One of the selling points for many genetically engineered crops has been that farmers will need fewer inputs and therefore have higher returns per acre. However, two recently released studies indicate that this may not necessarily be the case.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas recently found that net income from land planted with Bt cotton was less than land planted with conventional cotton by an average of $25 per acre in 1997, based on observations in three Arkansas counties. (Bt cotton is genetically engineered to produce its own pest-killing toxin. Currently, Monsanto dominates the engineered-cotton market). To carry out the study, researchers compared fields planted with Bt cotton to similar fields within the same farms that were planted with conventional cotton.

Previously, researchers had found that Bt cotton performed well in Arkansas in 1996, and economic studies from the Delta and Southeastern states showed a substantial increase in net income per acre planted with Bt cotton that year. However, at least in Arkansas, 1997 did not appear to be as profitable. In the University of Arkansas study, Bt cotton showed less profit per acre than non-Bt cotton in four of seven observations, and on the average yielded 24 pounds per acre less than non-Bt cotton.

According to the study, net income of Bt cotton was highly variable, ranging from $168.18 per acre less than non-Bt cotton to $127.33 per acre more. Causes of this variation and the overall lower profits of Bt cotton were attributed to technology fees added to the cost of genetically engineered seed, yield differences, costs of plant growth regulators and the need to harvest fields twice. According to one researcher, "The worst scenario for the Bollgard variety (Monsanto's Bt cotton) occurred in one of the Jefferson county fields, where the non-Bt out yielded the Bollgard by 168 pounds per acre resulting in a $104.16 per-acre decrease in gross returns. In addition the Bollgard cotton required more plant growth regulator and had to be picked twice, while the non-Bt cotton was picked once."

A second study released by American Cyanamid, a U.S. multi-national agrochemical company and one of Monsanto's main competitors, found that farmers could experience yield losses up to $43 per acre when planting Monsanto's Roundup Ready soybeans. Roundup Ready soybeans are genetically engineered to be resistant to the herbicide glyphosate (Monsanto's Roundup). The findings were based on a series of field trials conducted for American Cyanamid in 1997 by growers across U.S. soybean-growing regions. The difference in yield was found when growers planted Roundup Ready soybeans and applied Roundup Ultra herbicide once, rather than using a residual control herbicide or planting "superior" varieties of soybeans.

Monsanto maintains that there is no loss of yield with Roundup Ready soybeans. The company claims that for the past couple of years, they have found a two bushel per acre average increase. However, Doug Dorsey, Monsanto's U.S. Roundup Ready soybean manager, conceded that some growers are seeing reduced yields on some of their Roundup Ready fields. He says that this is due to two major factors: farmers are often using Roundup Ready beans to clean up "especially weedy acreage," and "ideal" Roundup Ready soybean varieties are not yet available in all areas of the country.

While all farmers may not be profiting from use of genetically engineered plants, Monsanto's sales continue to increase. In 1997, Monsanto's agricultural product sales grew to over US$3 billion, with sales of Roundup growing by more than 20%. Much of the increase in Roundup sales was in Latin America, the U.S., Australia and parts of Asia, and the company is anticipating further increases as a result of the introduction of other glyphosate-tolerant crops. In 1997, Roundup Ready soybeans were planted on nine million acres in the U.S., with 18 to 20 million acres to be planted in 1998. In Argentina, 3.5 million acres were due to be planted in 1997-98, compared with 250,000 acres the previous year.

Roundup Ready cotton was planted on approximately 800,000 acres in the U.S. last year, along with 60,000 acres of dual-trait cotton (cotton plants engineered to be resistant to glyphosate and also express the Bt gene). For 1997, Monsanto predicts that plantings of Roundup Ready cotton will rise to 7.5 million acres and dual-trait cotton to one million acres. Bollgard (Monsanto's Bt cotton) was planted on 2.4 million acres in the U.S. in 1997, which may increase to as much as 5.5 million acres this year.

Agrow: World Crop Protection News, January 30, 1998.

Contact: PANNA.

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Pesticide Action Network North America (PANNA) 116 New Montgomery, #810, San Francisco, CA 94105 Phone:(415) 541-9140 Fax:(415) 541-9253 Email: panna@panna.org http://www.panna.org/panna/

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